Richard Kirsch, the national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, offers a bit of praise to Senate Finance Committee member Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) who for the first time today articulated support--however tepid--for including a public health insurance plan in reform legislation.

"We are glad to see her express interest in a public option," Kirsch says in a statement to TPMDC, "and we look forward to her further support of giving everyone the choice of a robust public health insurance plan that will meet the President's goals of lowering costs and keeping the health insurance companies honest."

Compare that, though, to the fulsome praise MoveOn offered Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) when she came around more completely on the same issue. "MoveOn commends Senator Hagan for deciding to support the health care reform bill that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee...which includes a national public health insurance option.... With the support of legislators like Senator Hagan, we can come closer to our goal of making quality health insurance accessible and affordable for everyone."